Ethiopia

Ethiopia's army chief and the president of a key region have been shot dead in a wave of violence highlighting the political instability in the country as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed tries to push through reforms.

The number of people who were forced to leave their homes and countries due to wars and persecutions, has reached 70.8 million.
This is the highest level since the creation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 1950, United Nations said in a report released for the news agencies.

The population of the planet will increase by 2 billion people over the next 30 years and will reach 9.7 billion in 2050. This is predicted by a UN report on global demographic change, the French press and TASS said.

By 2100, Earth's population could reach a peak of 11 billion people, the UN says.

The African embassies and honorary consulates of Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, Zambia and Zimbabwe join forces for the 18th African Cultural Festival at the Galatsi Olympic Arena this weekend.

"Lalibela: Land of Angels," on show at the Melina Municipal Cultural Center in Athens, is a collection of photographs taken by Vassilis Artikos during several visits to the UNESCO-listed Ethiopian city, where he participated in Ethiopian Orthodox Christian celebrations and customs. Located in the Amhara region, Lalibela is Ethiopia's second holiest city after Axum.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects it could take until August before the Boeing 737 MAX returns to service, the airline group's head said on Wednesday, adding that the final say on the timing rested with regulators, BNR reported, quoting Reuters.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver a keynote speech at the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) to be held from April 25 to 27 in Beijing, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced on Friday.
Leaders including heads of state and government from 37 countries will attend the forum's round-table summit, Wang told a press briefing.

Bulgaria remains at 111th place in media freedom. This was made clear by the annual Freedom of the Press Index, announced by the international non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders.

People around the world massively put national interests in front of global ones. According to a survey by Gallup International, conducted in 58 countries.

National interests are a priority for 70% of the world's citizens against 21% who voted for international cooperation and globalization.

81% of adult Bulgarians put national interests first and Bulgaria falls into the top ten countries in nationalist sentiment. This is the result of an international survey by Gallup International, conducted in 58 countries around the world.